A press conference has been scheduled for Thursday at 1 p.m. to announce that minor league hockey will continue this October at Trenton's Sun National Bank Center under city's original franchise name -- Trenton Titans.

The announcement will come just weeks after the New Jersey Devils shuttered the ECHL minor league Trenton Devils affiliate amid declining attendance.

The Titans will be associated with, but not owned by, the Philadelphia Flyers, Director of Media Relations for the Trenton Titans Jed Weisberger said.

The owner of the new team will be Blue Line Sports LLC, which is headed by John and Eileen Martinson. The Martinsons own an investment firm based in Lawrence.

Fans had rallied around a potential return of the Titans in the weeks following the closure of the Trenton Devils. The news of the press conference was posted on a Facebook page this afternoon.

Minor league hockey was originally launched in Trenton under the Titans brand in 1999 and fans packed the former Sovereign Bank Arena. The Titans won the ECHL championship Kelly Cup in 2005.

The New Jersey Devils acquired the minor league team in 2006 and later renamed the club the Trenton Devils.